Archive for the ‘My Flowers’ Category

I’ve been A.W.O.L. for a few days, but I want to give you a quick behind-the-scenes peek at my 12-hour day of shooting yesterday with everyone’s favorite garden guru, P. Allen Smith! We filmed some great conversations for his shows, Garden Style and Garden Home, and we also had a lot of laughs.

I have more to tell you about our shoot coming up soon, but here’s a taste for now!

Now, you know I’m a champion for being totally authentic and transparent in life, in business, and in your creative work! So, no, “fake” isn’t one of my favorite words. But let’s get real, some of us wouldn’t have a green thumb if we painted it with my favorite shade of Kelly.

So when it comes to flowers, artificial arrangements–or “floral reproductions”–can really give you the daily uplift of flowers without the constant fuss and maintenance. And though the great quality faux flowers are expensive, so is buying fresh at the store every week. So if you are like me and really LOVE what flowers do for your decor and your spirit, FAUX just may be the way to GO! Peonies are my favorite, and this one from NDI is a perfect substitute for the real thing when they are not in season.

I spoke about all this on KATV’s Good Morning Arkansas yesterday. Here’s the clip:

In fact, when my team gathered all of these arrangements in my office to bring them to the TV studio, I left them waiting to be loaded up and got busy working on something else in another part of the office. When I walked back into the room, it took a second for my brain to catch up and remember that they weren’t real! That’s how great-looking some of these reproductions are. Here’s another look at the examples I showed on the segment:

And a favorite tip of mine for photo shoots is the tuck fresh flowers into the faux arrangement just like I did in the photo above. Then the artificial flowers take up most of the “space” in a large vase and you only have to buy a handful of the fresh to fool the camera’s eye. If you wanted to do this for a party, be sure to put the tiny vials of water on the end of each stem so it will stay fresh for several hours and your guests will think the whole think vase is fresh and gorgeous!

And some more arrangements to LOVE:

This one is a favorite mentioned by designer and blogger, Grant Gibson:

Love the drama of this red:

And if you like a more eclectic look, these are so happy:

So, yes, fresh is best, but if your life needs a little more flower power, consider reproductions like these for amazing impact!

Can you believe today is the first day of spring?!? In celebration of warmer temps, blooming beauties and nights spent on the patio, I thought I’d share my all-time favorite flower – the Peony – and a few rooms that remind me of these gorgeous blossoms.

There is nothing more exciting than having my work photographed! It marks the completion of the project, or at least a portion of it, and it allows my staff and me to bask in the glory of the end product, even if just for a day or two, before we get back to business. And a little bonus for me is that photo shoots also allow me to be surrounded by my second love after Interior Design…Flowers!

There is so much that goes into preparing a home for a shoot. It is actually a job in itself, or at least for me it is! Of course, I have to admit that I am a bit of a perfectionist. I look at every single project that I begin, whether it is ultimately ever photographed or not, like I am looking through the eye of a camera. I see it as if it were being seen by the readers of my favorite shelter magazine. I have often been complimented by photographers, stylists, and magazine editors for the perfect styling and editing they find when arriving at one of my projects! And belive me, Flowers are a HUGE part of that styling!

When the photoshoot is scheduled, I study each room with a discerning eye. Each and every table scape must be expertly edited. Just the right accessories, or “props”, must be on display. Every pillow must be precisely fluffed and each piece of art meticulously straightened. And to perfectly compliment the design scheme in each room, I toil over exactly what variety and color of flower will be needed.

There are certainly some reoccuring themes in my flower choices. Varieties that I personally love seem to crop up again and again. Casablanca lilies, large pink peonies, tulips of all colors, roses, especially the garden variety, hydrangeas, orchids…just to name a few!

And though I often am unable to share the photos we shoot with the public for some time due to magazine restrictions, I can always make a “Flower Diary” to give a small glimpse into project. And that is exactly what I did last week! I hope you enjoyed seeing these amazing flowers and I cannot wait until I can bring you the photos of this stunning home in March!!

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